Rangers need Igor Shesterkin to be elite to keep up this hot pace

The Rangers gave their fans a great Christmas gift this year: a 23-8-1 record and a perch atop the Eastern Conference standings at the NHL’s three-day Christmas break. They are tied with Vancouver for most wins and their .734 points percentage is the best in the league.

There are plenty of fascinating numbers within those numbers, such as an 11-0-0 record when tied after one period, 7-0-0 when tied after two and a 5-1 record in games that go beyond regulation. They also are 4-0 in games decided in overtime and 1-1 in shootouts.

“I like the way we’ve played so far,’’ center Vincent Trocheck said Saturday night after the Rangers closed out their pre-Christmas schedule with a 4-3 overtime win over Buffalo. “We definitely still have some growing to do, but I think we’ve seen what we’re capable of so far. We’ve had games where I thought no one can beat us, and I think if we can play like that and kind of harness that game and take that next step to playing that way every night, then I like our chances against anyone.’’

Is all that sustainable for the remaining 50 games on the schedule, though?

It is if Igor Shesterkin plays the rest of the season the way he did on Saturday.

The goalie’s raw numbers from that game — three goals allowed on 30 shots for a .900 save percentage — seem kind of average. And his 2.86 goals-against average and .906 save percentage this season look substandard compared to his career numbers of 2.43 and .922.

But with Shesterkin — or any goalie, for that matter — it’s less about averages and percentages and more about timing. It’s not how many goals he lets up or how many saves he makes, it’s whether he makes the big save the Rangers need to bail them out at a crucial time. Against Buffalo, that’s what he did.

“He’s a world-class goalie [and] that game was . . . dangling on a string for either team,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “He made some great saves, but there was a couple of really, really nice saves in the overtime that gave us an opportunity to continue to push inside of the overtime and get the extra point.’’

Shesterkin made three saves — extraordinary ones — in overtime before Mika Zibanejad set up Chris Kreider for the winning goal. And even before that, he made a crucial save on a shorthanded breakaway by Alex Tuch (who’d stolen the puck from Trocheck) to keep the score tied at 3-3 with 7:01 left in regulation.

“He saved my [butt] a couple times there,’’ Trocheck said. “He was spectacular . . . And obviously we know what Igor is and how good of a hockey player he is. So I hate to say we expect those things out of him, but with how well he’s played his entire career, it’s almost expected.’’

Despite all the things that the Rangers have done well in their first 32 games — things that include playing more structured, much better overall defense in front of their goalie — they still will need Shesterkin to be elite to keep up the pace they’ve set.

By playing better defensively, the Rangers will reduce the number of odd-man rushes and other grade A chances Shesterkin (and backup Jonathan Quick) will have to deal with in games. But you can’t win games 0-0, and so the Rangers are going to have to take some risks to score goals. It’s inevitable that some of those risks are going to lead to high-danger chances against.

That’s where Shesterkin comes in. When he bails out his teammates with extraordinary saves, they can play with a confidence that allows them to take calculated risks in trying to keep pucks in the offensive zone or make creative passes. When those risks pay off, they will do so in the form of more possession time in dangerous areas within the offense, more scoring chances and more goals.

And in the big picture, that will lead to more wins.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.